Performing Healing: Repetition, Frequency, and Meaning Response in a Chol Maya Ritual

Abstract

AbstractThis article explores the role that repetition plays in symbolic healing through a close examination of the speech patterns and actions performed by a healer in a Chol Maya ritual aimed at curing a woman of kisiñ—the “embarrassment‐sickness.” The authors examine the repetition of speech patterns in the healing chant and the frequency with which other paralinguistic elements, such as taps, co‐occur with the chant verses. The sound patterns generated during the ritual, specifically those created by the rhythmic tapping of the patient's body with a bough bouquet, are yet another form of repetition often overlooked in analyses of healing rituals, which have concentrated on other symbolic elements used by healers. It is argued that the repetition of phrases in parallel verses serves as metapragmatic commentary on the healing process as a restructuring of the patient's body, which has been unstructured by the disease.